Boasting of a high success rate during its just over a year operating in Guyana, Insel Air is now rewarding its customers with an opportunity to visit any two of their 26 destinations during one trip, at no extra cost.
This was related by Chief General and Inter-national Affairs Officer of the Curacao-based airline, Edward Heerenveen during a press conference at the Roraima Duke Lodge on Tuesday. According to Heerenveen, Curacao’s flag carrier has experienced “quite a positive development” since its establishment in Guyana last June. He said a growing number of Guyanese have made use of Insel Air’s possibilities. He explained that with the new offer, Guyanese can now visit the many other destinations that the airline offers.
“If you go to either one of our hubs in Curacao or Aruba, you can now decide that on passing through and you have people there you know, you can now stay for a few days and it will not cost you an extra penny, you can continue to your final destination when you decide to leave,” he explained.
He also highlighted the airline’s plans to recruit young Guyanese professionals who are interested in working with the company.
“Another thing we would want to do is have a programme where we look at our young professionals, our pilots and flight attendants, we are going to hire flight attendants from Georgetown, pilots from Guyana who are ready with their education and are looking for a place to work,” Heerenveen said. “I cannot say that the best is yet to come as the best is here, the only thing is that the best can be better and that is what we are aiming for,” he added.
These sentiments were echoed by Nicole Berenos, Insel Air’s Sales Manager, who expressed pleasure at what Guyana has done for the company. “Last year at this time, we were operating with two flights a week. In December, we added two more flights and starting last month, Insel now offers six flights a week out of Guyana. This means that Guyana is important for Insel Air, we are here to stay and we hope that we can grow together with the Guyanese travelling public,” Berenos said.
She also sought to highlight the airline’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, pointing out that Insel Air has a community fund in each of the areas the company operates in. This, she said, is aimed at strengthening ties in the community.
Additionally, Berenos said, Insel Air is committed to building tourism in Guyana. “Not only do we strive to connect Guyana to Insel Air’s market but Insel Air’s market to Guyana. We are looking forward to bringing people to Guyana as we see a very promising country for tourism,” she asserted.
Meanwhile, Captain Gerry Gouveia of Roraima Airways expressed pleasure at his company’s partnership with Insel Air as the airline has boosted travel across the Dutch Caribbean and Latin America.
He also lauded current Minister of Tourism Cathy Hughes. According to Gouveia, Hughes has her fingers firmly on the industry because of her experience in tourism and he expects major advancements in the industry.
Insel Air currently operates six weekly flights from Guyana to their hubs in Curacao and Aruba with onward connections to 26 destinations across the region and to Charlotte, North Carolina and Miami in the United States.
